Something Wicked
by PseudonymousEntity
Summary: Petunia abandons her 9 year old nephew when his hair turns a shade of red associated with the Devil. Frightened and alone little Harry stumbles upon the entrance to Diagon Alley. There he unlocks his magic...and something else along with it. Horcrux!Harry. Powerful!Harry.
1. Hellfire

**PSEUPSEUPSEUPSEUPSEUPSEUPSEUPSEUPSEUPSEUPSEUPSEUPSEUPSEUPSEUPSEUPSEUPSEUPSEUPSEUPSEUPSEU**

* * *

 ***S*O*M*E*T*H*I*N*G**W*I*C*K*E*D***

* * *

 **CHARACTERS:** Harry Potter

 **Warnings:** None that I can think of.

 **AN:** One Shot. Just an idea that came to me. What do you think, does it deserve its own story?

 **Ever Yours, Pseu**

* * *

 _Here comes the world w_ _ith that look in its eye, f_ _uture uncertain but certainly slight_

 _Look at the faces! Listen to the bells!_

 _It's hard to believe we need a place called Hell_

 _The Devil inside!_ _The Devil inside! -_ _Every single one of us_

 _The Devil inside_

* * *

He shivered.

The sky was getting dark, the wind whipping against his arms and tangling his already untidy hair. Normally he might have tried to smooth it down to make it less offensive but no amount of hair smoothing or combing would make it acceptable today. Honestly this entire mess could be blamed on his hair.

After staring at him for what he was beginning to believe to be an unhealthy amount of time his Aunt had decided the time had come to tame his hair once and for all. By having it off. All but for his bangs which she allowed if only to his eyes which she hated even more than his hair. This morning his had, of its own accord, grown back, and to add insult to injury, had grown back twice as long. It wasn't his fault. He hadn't told it to grow back, though he may have been silently urging it to grow as quickly as possibly but who could blame him? He'd looked ridiculous. None of that stopped his aunt from looking at him as if he lived to be as abnormal as possible.

Aunt Petunia was ordinary. Offensively so. She was of average looks, average intelligence, lived in a middle class home with a husband who earned a neither enough to be impressive nor little enough to be scoffed at. The only thing ruining her perfectly ordinary world was Harry himself. He was too small, too pale, his hair too unruly, his eyes far too bright. He spoke too cleverly when he did speak and when he didn't he was too quiet.

His eyes though.

Harry didn't know what she had against the colour green but she made such a big deal out of her dislike of his eyes that he went out of his way to glare up at her through her bangs, his head tilted just right for her to get the full effect. She hated it when she did that. Her face would pale and her hands would shake. He got shoved into his cupboard for it of course but really it was worth it. It wasn't as if he chose to have bright green eyes just to offend her.

He couldn't help what colour his eyes were.

Half an hour later and he was unceremoniously pulled out of his cupboard and herded into the Dursley family car. He was informed his glasses, which he'd been given two months ago, were going to get fitted to him properly. He could imagine the horrid frames she would saddle him with. They stopped at Lipman and Son first. His aunt ran in to see if an order they placed from a catalog had come in yet. He waited for her in the car absently making pictures in the fog on the glass. She returned with a loud knock to the side of the door motioning for him to get out. He was lead down another street to a store with a large pair of eye glasses on the sign. His aunt thrust him toward the wall where different frames were displayed while she took his old pair up to the counter. He'd just seen a smart red pair with thin rectangular frames and wished he could have a pair like that rather than the thick round frames his aunt had pointed out when heard his aunt give a startled shriek. He whirled around to see what was the matter only to find her staring at him.

"What?" He asked. "What is it?"

She pointed at him with an unsteady hand, her other covering her mouth. The sound of voices in the back room snapped her out of it. His aunt marched forward, took him by the arm and began towing him out of the door, pressed close to her all the while. He thought he heard her mutter "Devil's Hair" as the door shut behind them. They walked back to the car and got inside without a word. She kept glancing at him worriedly out of the corner of her eyes, it was making him jumpy. He wanted to asked what was wrong but she didn't look like she could handle that sort of question just then. The drove a little ways away and she parked the car and rounded the other side to open his door. Tentatively he got out.

Neither of them said anything.

To his shock she reached out and pulled put a hand on his head, looking like she felt very sorry for him indeed. It was a novel feeling as she had never shown the slightest concern for him as long as he'd known the woman, which happened to be his entire life.

"I need you to entertain yourself today. There's..." She cleared her throat, "There are book stores all along here and some other small shops as well. You'll be safe enough around here, try not to wander. I'll...I'll be back." She took a step back, withdrawing her hand, then she stopped. "I am sorry Harry. I can't take you home like that. Vernon, I just, I don't know what he'd do. I don't know what the neighbors would do. I..."

He watched his aunt get into the car and leave him there.

Frightened, Harry glanced around for something he could see his reflection in. A large book store down the way with a big F on the front, he couldn't read the rest from this angle, looked like it was open. He headed for it and only stopped when he got a look in the window. There were books everywhere, but what caught his attention was his reflection looking back at him out of a mirror against the far wall. He blinked. That couldn't be right. Harry yanked the door open to the sound of a jangling bell and ran down the middle aisle narrowly avoiding a middle aged woman with long blonde hair. He reached the mirror and stopped breathing.

Red.

His hair had turned red. Not just normal, regular ginger or auburn or even strawberry blonde either oh no. When weird things happened to him they happened properly. His hair was an impossibly deep, vibrant red he'd seen on women's lipsticks or holiday sweaters during the winter. The colour of fresh blood after a cut or the stripes on a candy cane at Christmas.

The room around him got very silent. Harry turned to see two men who may have been brothers and a younger woman looking at him curiously. The rest of them were backing away. Harry swallowed and left the store quickly to the sounds of their murmurs.

 _"Hellfire!"_

 _"The poor dear! Touched by Cain."_

 _"Glad he's gone."_

Thus he stood alone in London, freezing, with what might be the worst hair colour ever. After walking a bit further on he spied a small pub pushed back between two stores that seemed to have gone out of business. He might be able to get away with playing as a child waiting for their dad. He could sit at a table in the back for little while and maybe if he looked real sad he could get someone to buy him something to eat. He smiled. He'd been able to do that a couple times before, this wasn't the first time he'd been left on his own and even Freaks needed to eat. Hesitating long enough to find something to cover up his hair, a green scarf lying next to a coat along the short wall outside the pub with it's owner no doubt somewhere inside, would do fine. The man had that nice coat so he didn't feel too bad about taking the scarf. He wrapped it around his head the way he'd seen his aunt do on windy days, straighted his tee shirt the best he could, it was large enough to be a dress on him but it couldn't be helped, pushed the door open just enough and slipped in. It was a quiet place with a low ceiling. Everyone in it had long coats that nearly touched the floor and a few of them odd jackets with no sleeves on over them. They looked warm, he wouldn't mind having one himself. He thought, looking at the other patrons -particularly one with sharp teeth leaning close to a pretty girl- walking around with a scarf on his head was the least remarkable thing to see in there.

A minute later he located the barman. "Excuse me?" He called, standing up on the tips of his toes to see over the bar. The man was bald with wide shoulders but the smile he gave him once he spotted him was friendly.

"Yes?"

He widened his eyes and looked as cute as he could manage. "I was wondering, if it wouldn't be too much trouble, if-"

"Trying to get into the Alley are ya? Come along I'll let you through."

The man turned and walked along the room headed to a door in the back. Perplexed, and really very curious, Harry decided he had nothing better to do. Checking to make sure his scarf was in place he scrambled after the barman. They walked through the door and around to a brick wall. He's just started wondering if he was going to be mugged when the man took out a long thin stick and tapped it in a pattern on the bricks. There was a slight, low moan and then the bricks were moving and sliding. He stared at the archway.

"Don't look that way little one. You'll be getting your own wand one day. Now run along and catch up with your family. Go on."

In a haze he stumbled out the archway into the strangest shopping alley he had ever seen. Of course, he hadn't seen many, but he couldn't suppress the feeling that these people. These wonderful, oddly dressed people with sticks they called wands and walls that changed shape, that these people were freaks like him. The smile curling across his lips must have been quite blinding. He glanced in every window he passed. He studied the people passing him by. It was like walking through a storybook, he thought. Unfortunately when you are studying other people you tend to forget about yourself. As he began up some stone steps he smacked into someone else and lost his footing. There was the sound of a bag tearing and he caught a glimpse of small round beads scattering across the ground.

A hand grabbed his own and pulled him up the stairs and into their arms, steadying him.

The bead things were everywhere. It was his fault, he hadn't been looking where he was going. But maybe, he tightened his hand into a fist, maybe if these people were like him then they wouldn't mind? He held out his hand to hover over the ground and, in slow precise movements he 'pulled' at the beads, gathering them together into a pile. It took a little while, as they liked to roll a bit too far rather than stopping when he stopped but he was a lot better at it now than he was the first time he'd done it. Finally they were piled together neatly. He knelt down, scooped them into his hands and paused. What would he put them in?

"Hold on." The other person knelt down as well, holding out a small bag. "Put them here."

He carefully poured them into the bag then watched long, quick fingers tie it up.

"Are you quite alright?" A voice asked him.

He nodded, keeping his gaze on the boots this other person was wearing. Nice boots actually. Black with silver along the edges.

Cool fingertips on his chin made him stiffen. His face was forced upward to meet the silver eyed gaze of the boy in front of him. He blinked. Did eyes even come in silver? As he was studying the boy in front of him, that boy was studying him as well. Silver eyed widened. "Your hair-"

Harry reached up to feel along his face. Strands of his too red hair had fallen into his face and across his eyes. He was so used to his hair in his face he'd forgotten the colour! Immediately he began pushing it back under. He didn't know for certain these people were freaks too, even if this boy had silver eyes, and he didn't know they would like him even if they were freaks. His own aunt didn't like him why should other freaks? Maybe there was something wrong with him. Maybe they...

"No wait!" The boy's other hand clasped over his own, stilling its' movements. He stood, frozen, as the silvered eyed boy pulled his scarf loose. His hair tumbled in messy curls around his face. Through his curtain of red he could see the boy watching him. "Merlin." The boy whispered.

"You're not going to try to cut it all off are you?" He demanded, shocked by his own daring. "Because it'll just grow back the next day."

"Cut it off?" The boy asked. His expression clearing from confused to outraged to a calm, neutral face. "Are your parents light affiliated then? Typical." His fingers were playing with the ends of his hair. He wondered if the boy noticed he was playing with his hair. He didn't especially mind, it was just...no one had ever done that before.

At his blank look he said, "Your hair. They call it _Hellfire_ or _Cain's Mark_ or-

" _Devil's Hair."_ Harry interrupted, remembering his aunt. It sounded like something wicked.

"Yes. And if they've made you cut it off before and cover it up, they _must_ be light affiliated or at the very least heavily influenced by their ideals. They think it's a sign of evil because it usually comes paired with what they call dark abilities. Really it just means you have a high influx of magic early on and good control of it. That's what father said. Load of rubbish of course, the evil part I mean. Not that a man marked by Hellfire couldn't be evil if they really wanted to be but they'd be so powerful you wouldn't say it to their face would you? Are they?" The impromptu history lesson ended and the rather well spoken boy waited expectantly.

It took him a minute to understand the question. "I- well I wouldn't know. They died when I was a baby."

The boy tilted his head thoughtfully. "Your relatives then. Light magic oriented?"

Magic! The thought of his aunt having anything to do with all of this strangeness was ridiculous. "No. They have nothing to do with any of this," he waved a hand to indicate the alley and the people in it, all the time wondering if he were dreaming, "My Aunt hates this sort of thing. Magic I mean." He felt wicked chills at saying the 'M' word so freely.

The hand in his hair paused. "Muggles. You're being raised by muggles?" And then he was combing Harry's red hair back from his face to get a good look at him. The fingertips on his chin, which he'd quite forgotten, moved this way and that. "You couldn't possibly be a muggleborn, not with as much control as you've got. Of course you get that from the hair." The boy mused.

Muggleborn. "No. No my _aunt,_ the woman raising me, is a...a muggle. Her and her family. My mother and my father were...like us." He wasn't one hundred percent certain about that but he had heard his aunt and uncle blaming his parents for his freakishness often enough that he could hazard a guess. He hoped that they were. He hoped more than he had ever dared to hope before that he was a part of these people and this world where they said magic and liked his hair and asked if he was okay. He wanted it badly. To belong.

"Were you adopted?"

He blinked. He didn't know. He supposed he must have been adopted by his aunt at some point if she had him now. Or maybe just a guardianship of some kind? They didn't treat him like another son. Or like a nephew either, come to that. He couldn't be sure.

The boy seemed to take his lack of answer as an an answer and hummed. "Open your eyes." He ordered.

Harry thought about refusing. His eyes offended his aunt nearly as often as his hair and without his glasses to hide behind they'd be even more green than normal. He sighed. Nothing for it really. He opened them, staring into the silver eyes of the other boy once more, without a curtain of hair between them. Feeling bold Harry reached out ran his fingers through the other boy's hair, which he thought much more interesting than his own. It was white. The boy's cheeks flushed pink. Then he stood and held out his hand.

Harry took it and allowed the boy to pull him to his feet.

"They don't know you're here?" The boy guessed.

"Of course not." His aunt would probably lock him in his cupboard for a month if she found out.

The boy grinned. It made his eyes crease at the ends. "I think I like you. I'm Malfoy by the way. Come along. Father will be busy for a while yet, you can do your shopping with me." Harry didn't bother mentioning he didn't have any money. He was already being pulled alongside the bigger blonde who began telling him in earnest about the shops as they passed them.

He smiled for the second time that day.

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 **PSEUDONYMOUS ENTITY**

2015


	2. Voices

**PSEUPSEUPSEUPSEUPSEUPSEUPSEUPSEUPSEUPSEUPSEUPSEUPSEUPSEUPSEUPSEUPSEUPSEUPSEUPSEUPSEUPSEU**

* * *

 ***S*O*M*E*T*H*I*N*G**W*I*C*K*E*D***

* * *

 **CHARACTERS:** Harry Potter

 **Warnings:** None that I can think of.

 **AN:** A second chapter. Still not sure if it warrants its own story. I do like the idea well enough.

 **Ever Yours, Pseu**

* * *

 _The monsters are all missing a_ _nd the nightmares can't be found_

 _And in their place there seems to be good feeling all around_

 _Instead of screams I swear I can hear music in the air, t_ _he smell of cakes and pies are absolutely everywhere..._

 _The sights! The sounds!_ _They're everywhere and all around_

 _I've never felt so good before..._

 _This empty place inside of me is filling up,_ _I simply cannot get enough_

 _I want it, Oh I want it, Oh I want it for my own_

 _I've got to know! I've got to know!_

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

"Quickly, I have so much to show you!"

Stores of all shapes, literally, and sizes were stacked and shoved in between and on top of other stores with all manner of signs and oddly positioned doors. People just as abnormal strolled down the street chattering about things he'd only ever heard of in the stole books under his cot in his cupboard. There were just so many things to look at and so many people. Did that man have cat ears!? Harry skidded to a halt to stare, caught himself and started walking again. He didn't like people staring at his hair so he shouldn't stare at their cat ears should they have them. Harry did want to find out why he had them though. Desperately. Could he have cat ears as well? Not that he wanted them but it was certainly something to think about. Whiskers might be fun. Oh a tail!

"Should we be doing this without a grown up?" He asked belatedly. It didn't much matter now they were already wandering around on their own. Of course, the taller boy knew the area better than he did and he did say his father was around here somewhere so maybe it was okay. Harry certainly wasn't the authority on wizarding culture or customs at any rate so he'd have to take the boy's word for it regardless. Harry could always blame him if they got in to trouble.

Malfoy waved a hand, waiting impatiently for Harry to finish covering his hair. After the first person tripped staring at him he'd decided he'd rather just keep it covered for now. The silver eyed boy only rolled his eyes and ordered him to hurry up and get on with it.

"Diagon's perfectly safe, it's full of light wizards and they wouldn't do anything scandalous in the daylight. And honestly I pretty much grew up in the side alleys. It'll be fine, I know these streets like a best friend. If anyone did try something they'd let me go pretty quick after realizing who I am. No one messes with my father." He said this all very smugly.

Harry tightened the scarf. "If you say so."

"Come look at this." Malfoy smiled at him over his shoulder and grabbed his hand. "This way, we'll get something over here first." Lights shined off the cobblestone street, damp from sporadic drizzles of what wished it was proper rain. Harry didn't think he'd have noticed if it were coming down like the days of Noah. He was seriously worried his cheeks were going to fall off from all of this smiling.

Pointed hats, long robes, dragon-hide boots, DRAGONS!, snake-skin vests, pants that wouldn't get dirty and shirts that were cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. Malfoy threw what Harry now knew to be a cloak around his shoulders and fastened it.

"Much better. Warmer too I bet, don't think I didn't notice you shivering. One in blue as well I think though the green does suit you best what with your eyes." The silver eyed boy snapped his fingers at the shop girl. "Both of these and add warming charms." She scurried around to follow his demands.

Harry learned telling Malfoy no was pretty much impossible. He would give Harry a humouring smile then buy it for him anyway. Having never experienced anything like this before Harry was just selfish enough not to complain much about it. He could hardly hide this stuff at home but damn if he wasn't determined to enjoy the adventure while it lasted.

"Oh and you've got to see these too."

He thought Malfoy might be having more fun than he was and he was the one new to this world. Harry was dragged along and presented to various people Malfoy new, then dragged into shops while Malfoy asked if he'd ever seen or had one of whatever was in there and of course he hadn't. He suspected Malfoy was just using this as an excuse to buy him things, though he couldn't imagine why he wanted to get him all of these things. They were strangers. Yet the boy seemed to genuinely like him. It was sort of the way he'd always pictured having a friend to be like-

Harry slowed. Did he have a friend?

Malfoy stopped and looked at him questioningly. He shook his head and started walking, giving him a reassuring smile. Harry didn't want to bring attention to the fact. he didn't know how the boy might react. Then again if he said it was because of the muggle that might make it okay, Malfoy didn't seem to like them. If they were all like the Dursleys Harry couldn't blame him. He couldn't picture some muggle trying to stuff the silver eyed boy into a cupboard. He snickered.

"Have you ever used one of these? No? I'll get you one."

He whirled around and two bags were thrust at him, leaving his head spinning. "Are you sure-"

"Here, try this." A bottle pressed against his mouth. Harry took a sip bewildered. "Do you like it? That's Butterbeer." Harry dropped his newly accumulated stuff in favour of drinking the rest of the bottle. He hoped, a little late, there wasn't any actual alcohol in it. He could just see how that would go over when Petunia came for him. If she came for him. That didn't stop him from having another bottle.

The store with a book on display about hexes and jinxes for enemies looked promising. Just in case of course.

"What's that over there?" He pointed at the book of hexes through the window.

Malfoy pulled him along. "Good idea, let's look at that."

Harry's head was snapping back and forth trying to take everything in all at once. Cauldrons and wands and broomsticks you could use to fly, places to get chopped up bits for potions- "That's called an Apothecary." -and books on everything you could ever want to know about. Some of them shrieked when you opened them, some of them made flurries of snow in the air or unleashed forceful gales grabbing up loose leafs of parchments and twirling them in the air until you managed to get it closed again. He even saw an entire shelf called invisibility with nothing in it, at least not that he could see. How were you supposed to read them? And why make them invisible? Was it a test? You could only find out how to make things invisible if you were clever enough to make the books visible?

And what on earth was that smell?

Harry dragged Malfoy to a cart on the side of the large walkway selling something on a short sticks cooking over flames. The flames were blue! He was about to ask when heard a loud squeal. turning he saw a building sell pets. Magical pets? He started off that way instead midway through the street. Malfoy laughed beside him. Harry flushed and sent him a beaming smile. They stopped outside the building.

"I don't know much about Muggle families," said Malfoy, studying him, "but aren't _you_ too little to be out on your own? Shouldn't you have a chaperon of some kind watching you?"

Harry, who was watching a two small girls leave the shop with a very large cat, glanced at his companion. "I'm not. Er, I mean I wasn't allowed to go out alone. I was with my aunt and then I was supposed to stay by the bookstores until she came back."

"Your aunt?"

He nodded, tapping on the glass window of the store and startling the caged kittens within. "Yes."

"How much time do we have before I need to get you back? You'll be in trouble if she finds out you've come here I imagine." Malfoy pulled his arm gently. "Come, I know a better place if you want to look at creatures."

Harry allowed him to lead him across the street and the other direction, slipping into a side alley. "I don't know." He confessed.

"Well what time did she say she'd be back? I can have my father check the time on his pocket watch when we find him." They passed a woman sitting at a small table telling fortunes. She glanced up at them in surprise, her customer looking over his shoulder out of curiosity. His eyes widened and he turned fully around, watching them walk away. They weren't the only ones though most people seemed more polite about it. The entire alley stared.

"Don't worry about them. Stay close though."

Harry shivered and held tighter to Malfoy. "She didn't. I don't know when she's coming back, only that she said she would."

The silver eyed boy stopped unexpectedly. Harry stumbled into him as a result. "Sorry." He said timidly.

"She just left you there?" Malfoy demanded. "In the middle of London?"

Harry wasn't sure if he ought to defend his aunt, she was his family after all, or not. He agreed with her about his uncle. He'd probably kill Harry if she brought him home with hair like this. Or lock him in his cupboard for the rest of his natural life. "She wouldn't bring me home. Not when Vernon was coming back. I think she is going to try to dye it."

"Who is Ver- _They're going to colour over your hair!?_ " Malfoy spun to face Harry.

He nodded, unsure. "Well she tried to shave my hair off yesterday and it just grew back overnight. And she has to find some way to hide this doesn't she?" He asked, gesturing to his hair. "They won't just leave me in the cupboard all of the time, how would I do my chores?"

The other boy opened and closed him mouth, then growled. He took hold of Harry once more and started walking. "We're going to have a conversation about this when my father gets here."

That sounded...ominous.

All thoughts of Malfoy's father left his mind at the sight of the new building Malfoy lead him to. It wasn't the long bird with golden feathers or may have been a turtle shooting flames that caught his eye. It was the voices.

 _"It's too tight in here."_

 _"Get off out of my face you idiot."_

 _"I can't breathe."_

Harry paced back and forth along the window trying to find the source of the voices.

 _"Oh shut up, I can't move with his heavy self on me."_

 _"I am not heavy, I'm just big boned!"_

To his surprise it seemed to be coming from a cage close to overflowing with small snakes.

 _"You've got the same bones as I do. You're just fat."_

 _"Take that back!"_

 _"Would someone shut them up?"_

He wouldn't have a pleasant disposition stuck in there either. He tapped on the glass. _"How long have you been in there?"_

As one the tangle of serpents faced him. It was a little intimidating actually or it would be if there weren't expressions of awe on their little faces.

 _"It speaks!"_

Harry blinked. If anyone should be surprised shouldn't it be him? Hey did they call him an 'it'?

 _"I'm not an-"_ There was a crash. Harry slowly stood up straight and turned. Malfoy stood there, bags at his feet, eyes wide. He didn't say anything at first. Harry shifted uneasily. He'd done something Freaky again. He could tell. Harry swallowed. "Malfoy?"

The boy opened his mouth just as a man in ragged robes snatched some of the packages off the ground, making to take off with them.

Malfoy grabbed the man's sleeve. "Hey, give those back!"

The man gave a nasty smile. "Your father can buy you more kid. Get off."

Malfoy kicked him in the chins. Harry felt his jaw drop. The man yowled in pain, dropping the stolen goods. He gave Malfoy a dark look, latched onto the from of his robes and shoved him back hard. The silver eyed boy stumbled backward, smacking into the wall. Looking back he wouldn't be able to explain how he did it, only that it happened. One minute he was watching his new friend fly into a wall and the next moment the glass behind him disappeared, unleashing dozens of small blue snakes. They slithered out of the enclosure to the ground, arguing with one another. Without thinking it through Harry pointed at the man who was advancing on his new friend. His only friend.

" _Stop him._ " He ordered.

To his amazement the snakes jumped to attention, snapping their gazes at him then to where Malfoy and the horrid man were. They coiled their bodies and sprung at the man. He gave a terrified shriek, arms slapping at the mass of sharp fangs and whipping tails covering him. They bit at his thighs, his calves, his arms. One was at his neck, it's body wound around him. His movements became sluggish. Lips tinted blue, eyes dazed. He dropped to his knees then fell completely to the ground. He didn't move after that. When they turned toward Malfoy he ran, placing himself between them.

" _No! He's my friend. You'll leave him alone._ " They stopped.

Harry let out a jagged breath. "Are you alright Malfoy?" He looked over his shoulder. Malfoy nodded slowly, rising to his feet.

"What were you thinking kicking that man?"

"That," said a voice. A tall man dressed all in black with equally black hair and eyes stood at the entrance to the shop. "Is what I would very much like to know as well. Or I could fetch your father and you could explain it to him if you would prefer."

Malfoy paled and gave a hasty bow. "Uncle Sev. Nice to see you."

* * *

 **Pseudonymous Entity**

 **2015**


	3. Ice

**PSEU~PSEU~PSEU~PSEU~PSEU~PSEU~PSEU~PSEU~PSEU~PSEU~PSEU~PSEU~PSEU~PSEU~PSEU**

* * *

 **~*S*O*M*E*T*H*I*N*G*~*W*I*C*K*E*D*~**

* * *

 **Summary:** Petunia abandons a young Harry in London with a flimsy promise to return after his hair turns an unnatural shade of red associated with the devil. Frightened and alone little Harry stumbles upon the entrance to Diagon Alley and is found by a boy with silver eyes. How much could Draco's influence at such a young age possibly change the story? Misunderstandings, possessiveness and magic ensue.

 **Characters:** Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy, Severus Snape (more later on)

 **Warnings:** Superstitions, Curses, Lies, Manipulations, Possessiveness, Dark Arts, Mythology

 **AN:** Chapter three of SM. I had planned to have this, along with an update for BLACK and MURDER, out on Saturday but alas it did not happen that way. Hopefully you lot won't have lost your interest in this little tale. I'd like to remind everyone that I do not have a Beta and do try to edit these well enough before I present them however I do miss things, repeated words or the wrong words, and sometimes spelling. I do go back and edit as I come across mistakes and if you point out a mistake for me I will definitely correct it when I have the chance. So please bear with me. I'm not a perfect editor. Additionally I acknowledge you guys want me to update my various stories (Can You Hear Me Now, The Rivalry, Falling Inside The Black) as quickly as I can and I do try to do so but I'm not always able to update as quickly as anticipated. I am doing the best that I can, I promise.

 **Ever Yours, Pseu**

* * *

 _I've kept my darker self under control, kept a leash on it, chains on it until it couldn't breathe anymore_

 _So afraid of the monster, don't, don't, don't you tempt the monster_

 _My family brought me to my knees no they couldn't stand the bloody sight of me, even they could see there's something, something wrong with me_

 _Tried to beat it out of me, bleed it out of me, tried to shove me into a nicer category_

 _Well it gets to the point where you're sick of being shoved, it gets to the point when you've finally had enough_

 _Time to show you what you should have known, these chains of mine are not for show_

 _I'm the facade of the beast, a wolf amongst the sheep; A fallen angel sent to test the strength of your beliefs_

 _I can feel it the power, I can feel the pull, let's let the monster loose yes let him have his fill_

 _I can show you the devil, I can rule the world forever, I am invincible_

 _Take the chains off, let it out and there's no going back..._

 _No one can touch me no nothing will stop me, even I can't stop me now_

 _I can't turn it off no it's got rules of it's own, oh what have you done, tell me what have you done_

 _Invincible, addicted to the power, powerless against it's pull; Hell it's nearly spiritual, you could even say apocalyptical_

 _What have you done oh no what have you done_

 _No on can touch me, do you wanna me touch me, I dare you to touch me_

 _I dare you to touch me now_

* * *

"You are usually far more aware of your surroundings Draco-"

Malfoy's uncle was a thin, pale man with chin length dark hair and dark clothing. All on his own he cut a rather intimidating figure. His eyes were large and black and piercing, his fingers long and sharp. Even shadows twisted toward him. There was one thing however you might not know from first glance.

"-I hope you understand the results of your negligence could have been more severe than mere thievery-"

If there was a profession or a sport dedicated to speaking this man would be the reigning champion. He reprimanded, insulted, chided and virtually incinerated with every breath in astoundingly creative ways, searching out avenues to the specific words necessary to cut into you like tiny knives. It looked like it hurt from Harry's vantage anyway, as Malfoy's shoulders tensed as soon as the man opened his mouth and he gave small involuntary winces and shudders with every sentence. Each sentence carefully crafted to be devastatingly personal.

"-You are unspeakably lucky your friend had the quick thinking to utilize his unexpected talents since you seem so set on acting like a heathen rather than the son and heir of a Lord-" The pale man's -Uncle Sev's- manner of speech was entrancing. Slow, quick quick, slow. Giving just the right amount of emphasis before carrying on to the next part of his sentence. It was effective. Searingly so. The man never once raised his voice yet it managed to be the loudest thing in the alley. His voice was deep and low and rumbled and rolled with his phrases. Harry thought it was fantastic. Was there a _class_ he could sign up to take to sound like that? He'd sign up for it immediately if there was. It was a magic all of its own.

"-endangering not only yourself but another child as well, a younger child by all appearances. What would happen if you were responsible for another man's son's death? Can you imagine if someone were to witness it before it could be handled quietly? Merlin help us, please tell me that isn't a light scion. The last thing your father needs is a political scandal-"

The silver eyed boy made the appropriate facial expressions of contrition, head slightly bow, hands clasped before him. While he did seem sorry to have disappointed his uncle Harry doubted he was the least bit sorry he'd kicked the man. In fact Harry was certain the silver eyed boy would have done it again if he hadn't gotten shoved. And he'd done it to protect Harry's things. The things his new friend had bought. Malfoy protected his things even after seeing him talking to snakes and being even more of a freak than he already was. Malfoy who didn't _care_ that his hair was red and he _couldn't_ turn it back or that he didn't have any money or that his clothes were awful. When that man tried to hurt him Harry couldn't stand it. He couldn't bear to lose his friend now that he had him. If he could protect him he would. That's what you did wasn't it? When you truly cared for someone? You protected them. You didn't shut them up in cupboards or call them names or push them around. You certainly didn't leave them alone in London because you were too cowardly to stand up for them at home.

"I couldn't just let him take his things." Malfoy protested.

Sev was unimpressed. "Paying attention to one's surroundings would have removed that issue before it had the chance to become one. In the future should a dark wizard attempt to take your things in an alley you shall allow him to proceed and then summon myself or your father to take care of it. Not only are we more than capable of disarming and removing stolen items from a common lowlife our pocketbooks aren't crying at the thought of further use should replacing the stolen items be necessary. All of this you know. What could possible have possessed you to act so irrational?"

"This is his first visit and he needs these things. They tried to keep it from him. Can you imagine? Never knowing you were a wizard? But he found us and he wanted to learn and he needed a cloak Uncle, and he needed those clothes. You should see what he's wearing under the cloak I bought him. He didn't even have a jacket when I found him, he was freezing. They left him Sev. They left and he was alone and I just...I couldn't...who _does_ that?" He paused. The blonde peered over his shoulder at Harry when he finally noticed the snakes positioning themselves in front of him. "Caine?"

Harry's heart jolted. A nickname. A nickname and it wasn't freak or boy. He smiled at the taller boy and shrugged his shoulders. Just because Malfoy was fond of his uncle didn't mean Harry wouldn't let his snakes bite him if he frightened or upset the silver eyed boy too terribly.

Sev appeared more interested in Malfoy's excuses now. Or at least he wasn't scowling. Dark eyes flickered between Malfoy and Harry. "Caine is it." It didn't sound like a question so Harry said nothing. Sev looked to Malfoy. "Do not, I beg you, tell me his parents don't know where he is? Did you _kidnap_ the child?" Long fingers pinched the bridge of a pale nose.

"No I didn't. I found him. He was wondering around all on his own. Those...those horrid muggles left him in the middle of London and why? Because he has magic! Because of his hair! Sev when I saw it he looked ready to bolt, he thought I would try to cut it off." The silver eyed boy seemed particularly insulted at the insinuation he would accost a complete stranger and attempt to relieve them of their unnatural hair. It was sort of funny, really, but his aunt had done so and she was family. What had Harry been supposed to think? All of those people in the store, the way they looked at him. And Malfoy had said the more light-sided wizards didn't like it either didn't he. So not a completely unfounded fear at the time.

 _"Can I eat him?"_

 _"Don't be stupid he's much too big for you to eat."_

 _"Yes, even if you are larger than the rest of us. I doubt even your fat mouth could swallow him."_

 _"I've told you a thousand times I'm big boned!"_

Amused Harry turned his head to see one remaining snake, just a little larger than the others, curled near the fallen thief, nose pocking him in the cheek. Perhaps he was assessing whether he were edible. Personally Harry wouldn't put any part him in his mouth if he were the snake. Who knew where he'd been? The snake didn't seem to care about that though.

 _"It's living! I want to eat something living the store clerk only ever gives us dead mice. Who wants a dead mouse I ask you?"_

Well wasn't that cute and horrifying.

 _"Oh those are disgusting."_

 _"I hate it here."_

 _"We don't have to go back do we? Surely we belong with the speaker."_

Harry blinked. Where on earth would he hide so many snakes at the Dursleys? In the shed? Oh Lord this wouldn't end well. That is if Aunt Petunia really did come back for him. He wasn't holding his breath on that. It wouldn't surprise him if she decided to forget about him so she wouldn't have to deal with her guilt anymore. She was the sort of person he could see doing that.

 _"If he tries to feed me a dead mouse I don't care what he speaks I shall bite him."_

 _"Perhaps just a nibble."_

 _"And then we shall all be forced to devour you. Thanks. I've always dreamed of being a cannibal."_

 _"We're snakes. Another snake is hardly the worst thing we'll have ever eaten."_

 _"You'll wake it you idiot."_

 _"Dead mice!"_

Unfortunately for the curious, and carnivorous, serpent the thief did indeed wake up. Startled the man sat up, glared and drew back a leg to kick at the little snake.

"No!" Harry forgot about his powers completely opting tackle the man to the ground which admittedly was only about two feet as he hadn't stood properly yet. Harry scooped up the little snake as he did, clutching it close to his chest. It immediately curled under his shirt around his waist. Harry was lifted by his collar, feet leaving the ground. A large dirty hand curled around his collar slipped up to his throat and tightened. The man was yelling something at him. Malfoy and his uncle were saying something in the background. It was hard to hear over the rushing in his ears.

 **Stop.** He thought. **Stop it.**

Harry found himself slipping from the man's grasp and falling to the ground. He looked up sucking in great gulps of air. The thief's hand was darkening, rotting, turning to ash. Harry watched, fascinated. That had never happened before. Sure he just appeared on the roof only a week ago and yes he could move things when he wanted to and his hair recently decided to take on a hue associated with man who committed the first murder, but still...he'd never rotted someone's flesh before. It was sort of interesting. It didn't seem to hurt the man, though that might be shock. He hadn't done anything had he? Uncle Vernon's hands never turned to dust. Maybe it only worked on other freaks? Other...wizards.

The thief set his eyes on Harry, expression darkening.

 _"We will stop the bad human-"_ He saw the snakes swarming toward him out of the corner of his eye.

 _"No! Protect my friend. The little white one. Keep him safe don't worry about me."_ A river of blue snakes swirled around the blonde's feet. Two of them slithered around his waist, the rest tangling in a hissing knot surrounding him. Harry was glad they listened. After all, even if his friend grew up learning magic, he didn't have a wand and he couldn't command the snakes as Harry could. That seemed to be a level of freakishness entirely Harry's own.

"What is this?" The man demanded, holding out his decomposing limb, rage and fright waring in his face. "What magic is this? What have you done to me you little freak?"

Malfoy tried to take a step forward, outraged. "Don't call him that."

Furious the thief turned his stick -wand- toward the blonde, leveling it with his face. Both Malfoy and his uncle's faces paled, the blonde lifting his hands best he could, palms out. "Hey, wait I don't know either. Everyone just calm down. Caine's just a bit overpowered is all." And Harry could see how Malfoy could be a Lord's son now, his voice light and polite, movements non-aggressive. "I can explain this to everyone's satisfaction I am certain. If you let us drop you off at St Mungos and swear to leave us alone in the future we can all just pretend this never happened. I won't have to tell my father anyth-"

The thief growled and flicked his wand, a light shooting out the end toward Harry's new friend.

His only friend.

Then it really hit Harry. This was a world of magic. These people allowed it, they practiced it, _encouraged_ its use. He could do whatever he liked and these people couldn't do or say anything about it because they were just as abnormal as him. Harry didn't have to be frightened anymore. He didn't have to hide his abilities. He didn't have to sit back and watch either. So, for the first time in his memory, Harry let his magic do as it pleased. And he felt it come to him, cool and thick it burst along his veins, pouring into every nerve, every muscle, through every artery. Blazing frost and ice into his every crevice filling his entire being. The world slowed around him until he could see not only the dust in the air but the actual magic coming down the man's arm and out the wand. He could feel it. Harry's own magic roared in response, pawing at the ground, pulling against his restraints.

So Harry let them go.

The small tufts of grass that grew through the cobblestones turned dark and frosted over. Ice swirled and crept along the store windows, the doors, icicles dripping from the roofs. It was cold. He could see his breath. His magic twirled around the man, attaching it's self to him. Time started abruptly, Harry standing between the thief and his friend, his magic swallowing the man's spell. He wondered if this was how that snake was feeling...eating something _alive_. The thief stared at him in disbelief before firing off another spell and another. Harry's magic rose up and gobbled down each one, dissolving them into his own magic, making his own even stronger. Frustrated, fearful, the thief shoved his wand into his pocket and made for Harry bodily. His magic purred in delight. Suddenly concerned Harry tried to pull it back- and was unable. He couldn't lock it up anymore! The moment the thief touched him Harry knew it was over. The thief rocked on his feet, eyes building, mouth opened with no sounding forthcoming. Something inside of Harry _yanked._ The man's skin faded and grayed and crumbled in to dust piece by piece unceasing even in the terror of its owner. With each bit that fell away Harry felt himself fill even more. The world was brighter, sounds louder, smells stronger, he felt so much stronger so much more...alive.

Horrified Harry realized he was eating this man's life. As quickly as the horror came it was replaced with satisfaction. He was smiling he knew. The man deserved it. This man had tried to take Harry's friend away from him and Harry, who had never had anything to properly call his own before, resented and hated the man for it. He could use his magic now and no one would ever take his things again. Least of, and most importantly, his precious friend. Very satisfied indeed. Harry wasn't sure which emotion was worse and couldn't be bothered to care just then. His magic dancing beneath his skin was distracting.

Eventually the man was nothing but dust. His magic receded and the temperature rose with its departure.

"Caine!" A silver eyed, blonde mass smacked into him, shaking him. "What were you thinking! I was so frightened."

"Don't be afraid Malfoy." Said Harry, tilting his head up to look at the other boy. "I wouldn't have let him hurt you."

Malfoy stared. Then he smacked the back of his head. "I wasn't afraid for myself you idiot. No one could beat Uncle Sev in a duel, certainly not the moron you dispatched. I was afraid for _you_. I thought you were going to _die_..." Arms wound around him holding him close to Malfoy, squeezing tightly.

A hug he realized. He was having his first hug. Harry's magic purred yet again, seemingly pleased with his friend's affection. He lifted his arms awkwardly, winding them around the taller boy and holding him to him possessively. No one would ever take his friend away from him he swore, watching his magic glittering around him.

 **No one.**

* * *

 **Pseudonymous Entity**

 **2015**


	4. Promises

**PSEU~PSEU~PSEU~PSEU~PSEU~PSEU~PSEU~PSEU~PSEU~PSEU~PSEU~PSEU~PSEU~PSEU~PSEU**

* * *

 **~*S*O*M*E*T*H*I*N*G*~*W*I*C*K*E*D*~**

* * *

 **Summary:** Petunia abandons a young Harry in London with a flimsy promise to return after his hair turns an unnatural shade of red associated with the devil. Frightened and alone little Harry stumbles upon the entrance to Diagon Alley and is found by a boy with silver eyes. How much could Draco's influence at such a young age possibly change the story? Misunderstandings, possessiveness and magic ensue.

 **Characters:** Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy, Severus Snape, Lucius Malfoy (others come later on)

 **Warnings:** Superstitions, Curses, Lies, Manipulations, Possessiveness, Dark Arts, Mythology

 **AN:** As requested I present the next installment of Something Wicked. Merry Christmas/Happy Yule everyone. [insert whatever other holiday if any you might celebrate here]. I hope you are all doing well and keeping warm if you're in the part of the world that gets that strange white coloured thing I've heard is snow.

 **Ever Yours, Pseu**

* * *

 _Some say the world will end in fire, Some say in ice_

 _From what I've tasted of desire I hold with those who favour_ _fire_

 _But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate_

 _To say that for destruction ice is also great_

 _And would suffice_

* * *

"...and honestly I thought you weren't trying to bring attention to yourself! Your eyes were glowing. Really. It was quite scary..."

Harry blinked. His eyes glowed when he was angry? This was a lot of unknown abilities to discover in a single day. Colouring changing hair, speaking to snakes, sucking out life, glowing eyes. Shouldn't there be a limit on the number of odd things happening in one day? Apparently there was no such limit. A man with short cropped blonde hair that positively yellow in comparison to Malfoy's came stumbling out of the shop. He turned toward his shattered window and empty cages.

"Oh circe the snakes have gone. The aurors will be all over me I'm going to lose my job-" He threw his hands about while he spoke, the wand in one of them shooting off unlikely coloured lights. One struck an unfortunate wizard walking down from the opposite side of the alley. Or it was a wizard. Now it was a one legged blob. A really gross, pitiable, one legged blob. Surely there were laws against randomly changing people into things previously non-existing without their permission? That man, if he ever became a man again and not a blob, would most certainly be upset. It did raise other thoughts as well. What was this magic that allowed you to have whiskers or cat ears or turn people into other things? He wanted to learn that. After he learned how to speak like Sev. He mustn't forget that.

"Take your idiocy elsewhere." Hissed the object of his thoughts.

It was a very good hiss. Maybe he could offer to teach him to speak with snakes in exchange for magical lessons of some sort? Or at least how to speak the way he did. When his aunt came for him and saw his hair hadn't fixed its self one of two things would happen. He would return to privet drive as he was and Vernon would be displeased or she would dye it and tomorrow morning ti would be red again and Vernon would then be displeased. Either way Harry couldn't quite convince himself that he would survive the encounter without an ace up his sleeve. He didn't have anywhere else to go so something had to be done. His magic surged inside of him. Something _would_ be done.

The store clerk finally realized the rest of them existed. He put a hand to his chest, hanging onto the door frame for support with the other. "Oh my is that, are those my snakes? They've haven't bitten him have they?" He stared at the fairer blonde.

Harry scowled. "Of course not. They're very well behaved thank you." He couldn't help being offended on their behalf. If the store clerk didn't keep them locked in small cages with nothing but dead mice to eat perhaps they would have a better attitude. As it was he couldn't blame them for being sour at their living arrangements. He had more room in his cupboard. The store clerk turned to look at him properly and Malfoy turned completely around and stood in front of him.

"Why don't you wait for us inside sir? We'll be along to straighten this all out is in just a moment." Harry couldn't see it but he could hear the charming smile Malfoy had in place. It must have been convincing. The man did so.

Harry reached out and tugged on Malfoy's sleeve. Silver eyes met his over the older boy's shoulder. "Why did you do that?" His voice was quiet, shy. He felt self-conscious. Why wouldn't he want to be seen with him? He hadn't minded at any of the other stores. Was it his eyes? His snakes? Was he too much of a freak to be seen with the son of a Lord? His mind flittered away with the possibilities.

Malfoy smacked the back of his head. Again. "Your scarf came off."

Oh. The blonde pulled him into another hug. It was odd. He wasn't used to close physical contact and certainly not positive physical contact but his magic absolutely singed in response. It seemed to be becoming just as attached to his friend as Harry himself. Which made sense. What was magic if not a living extenuation of yourself?

Long fingers rested on Malfoy's shoulder. "Draco, move aside."

"Sev-" Malfoy began.

The hand attached to the fingers tightened. "Now Draco. Show me what you are hiding." Harry only had a moment to feel a sense of fear. Then Malfoy was gone and Sev stood before him. Deep black eyes widened. " _Mercy._ " Sev breathed.

He slowly came to his knees in front of him, smelling of fire. His magic liked it. Harry jerked a bit at those long fingers reaching for him. To his amazement they held his chin gently, as if Harry were something expensive in those stores where his aunt Petunia liked to browse but never bought anything. Sev studied him for a long moment. Harry kept very still. Waiting. Malfoy knowing about him was one thing. An adult knowing was something else entirely. In his life experience you didn't trust adults. Ever. They always took the easy way out and they only ever pretended to care if it got you to do what they wanted and they weren't the kind that believed in giving a good smack. Those were the 'church kind' according to uncle Vernon, who _was_ the kind that believed in giving a good smack. And another.

Something of his thoughts must have shown through. Sev's eyes narrowed, the ends of his lips moving down just slightly. "Where are your parents?"

"I think they're dead." Said Harry.

Malfoy spoke up. "He's been adopted by these horrid muggles uncle. The shaved off his hair to hide it and now they're trying to colour over it. The woman he lives with left him alone in London, he doesn't even know when she'll be back. They keep him in a cupboard Sev and use him for servant."

Sev rose to his feet, looking quite as intimidating as his first appearance. "We shall deal with the clerk and then we shall find your father." The man turned and slipped inside the store.

Malfoy raised his brows at Harry. "I told you Caine. My father will hear about this and then just _see_."

He knew the other boy was trying to be comforting in some way but Harry couldn't help but think Malfoy's father was someone important, as a Lord he must be, and influential if both Malfoy and Sev were certain that the man could take care of it. He wasn't so certain that a man like that would care what a child in hand-me-down clothes was going through regardless of the nice cloak his son bought for him. Men like that were invited over by Uncle Vernon for dinner and Harry was dressed nicely and paraded for them. Not one of them had shown any interest in him beyond agreeing with the Dursleys that they were very kind indeed.

Harry held tight to Malfoy's arm and let the older boy lead him into the store. He was afraid the clerk would yell at him when he realized it was his fault. The snakes still wound about Malfoy tried to reassure him they would bite the man if he tried, but Harry thought that was counterproductive at this point. They couldn't bite everyone he didn't like. Leaving a trail of bodies wasn't smart. Of course he had destroyed even that of the thief in the alley...but no that man deserved it. He tried to take Malfoy away from him. He tried to hurt him. There was nothing wrong with destroying people who did that. They deserved it. Didn't they?

His magic roared in his ears. Of course they did. If he had the power to stop people taking his things he should stop them. It wasn't his fault the man didn't learn his leasson after being attacked by snakes. He was asking for it. He needed to be taken care of. Now he could never try to take Malfoy away again. The blonde was his friend and his to keep safe and he wouldn't feel sorry for the thief. No, he wouldn't feel sorry for **anyone** who tried to take him away.

A rat in a cage squealed at him.

Harry jerked, ducking behind Malfoy. He hated rats. Whenever Vernon shut him in the tool shed overnight two or three of them would find their way inside and Harry would have to spend the night balanced on the shelf, swinging the broken mop handle at them to keep them away. They were horrid. It squealed again and Harry shuddered.

Malfoy looked at Harry then at the rat. He wrinkled his pale nose. "What is that?" He demanded, disgusted.

The clerk stood from his chair. He appeared to have been fanning himself. "Found the thing running around half starved. Checked it over already, it's perfectly healthy otherwise. No signs of disease. I'm afraid the Weasley family has a hold on it for one of their sons-"

"We certainly weren't asking to have a rat for a pet." Said Malfoy, giving the man a condescending look.

"No, no young master of course you wouldn't." The clerk stuttered. It was incredibly interesting to Harry that the blonde could be covered in stolen snakes from the man's own store and still give him cause to cower. Dangerous, Harry decided. Malfoy's father was dangerous. He must be.

Harry tugged on Malfoy's sleeve. "I'd like to have it for my snakes." And they _were_ his. He'd let them bite the clerk if he said otherwise. Malfoy didn't like him so why should Harry? And he could talk to the snakes. He wanted them. They were his...

The older boy looked at his uncle. "Sev? Caine would like it for his snakes."

"Indeed?" Sev said, "Very well. We'd like to purchase the filthy vermin. Now please." He added when the clerk seemed ready to argue.

The clerk's face paled just Malfoy's had done earlier when Sev's voice took that tone. He was dangerous as well then. Malfoy had even said Sev was more than a match for most people hadn't he? But he wasn't a Lord. That was why Malfoy's father was above him. He had a title and money to go with it. Sev couldn't be poor though. His clothes, though a plain black, were well tailored and clean. His shoes looked just as expensive as Malfoy's boots and he was very well spoken. A man who had earned his money and influence rather than inheriting them then. Harry racked his mind for all the sort of things Vernon used to say about these sort of people. He reckoned Vernon would try for Lord Malfoy's esteem over Sev's. While that would be helpful, as the man was Malfoy's father and he could prevent there friendship, Harry thought Sev would be the better of the two to befriend. He would be the sort of man that could do things Lord Malfoy couldn't without having to worry about his reputation and how much money he might need to feed someone's mouth to keep it shut. He knew that because uncle Vernon was the sort you had to bribe to keep quiet.

If he could get Sev to like him he would have both his influence as an adult and Malfoy's as the Lord's son working for him in favor of their continued friendship. And neither Harry or his magic was willing to let anything but that be the outcome of this encounter.

The rat was sat in it's cage on the counter. "Anything else?"

"Yes," Malfoy said , raising his chin. "We'd like these snakes as well."

The clerk's face turned sour. "Those are experimented Vipera Berus young Master. While they have not bitten you yet through whatever happy accident, I can not in good conscious allow you to purchase them when I myself do not yet know the full extent of the effects of their venom nor other side effects they may have as a result. They are meant for processing for an Apothecary further down the alley later this afternoon. The owner has already paid in full."

 _"I knew it. I to just knew it."_

 _"At least we got to see the outside first."_

Harry frowned. _"What's wrong?"_

A small head wound out of his shirt. Harry had completely forgotten about the thicker snake he'd rescued. _"We're going to be cut into pieces speaker."_

 _"What? No!"_

The clerk looked around at that particularly loud hiss. Tentatively Harry peered around Malfoy. "They said you're going to cut them into pieces. You're not are you? How could you be so horrible? They'v never done anything wrong and it's not their fault their always in a foul mood. You would be too if you were stuffed in a small cage and fed dead mice. Who eats dead mice? They want them living. Snakes are _predators_ you know. Dead food is insulting." All three of the other human inhabitants of the store stared at him. His magic swirled around him, searing along his skin as it lowered the tmeperature in shoppe, swirls of ice combing along the walls.

"I've never heard you say so much all at once Caine." Said Malfoy, his breath visible in the cold air.

Harry blushed and hid his face in Malfoy's shoulder. His magick curled around them and the temperature returned to normal.

"His hair. Did you _see_ his hair? I've got to call somebody-" Sev cut him off with a look. Harry didn't know what they were saying, it came in low murmurs, but whatever it was it was enough for the clerk to agree and all but shove them out of the door after word. He assumed that meant the snakes were his though God knows how he was going to hide them. He certainly wasn't going to allow Vernon to kill them or hurt them if he found them however killing his uncle would get him kicked out of their house for sure. He cold always have the snakes hunt for him. The Dursleys made certain he knew how to cook.

"You can turn a man to ash but confronted with a rat and you fall to pieces." Teased Malfoy.

Harry glared around him at the cage in Sev's hand. "Rats are vile, untrustworthy creatures. I _hate_ them."

The blonde glanced down at him. "You really are frightened of them aren't you?"

Without a word Sev tapped the cage. It grew small enough to fit into a pocket which Sev immediately did. No one said anything else about the rat. They walked along the alley, Sev collecting and shrinking the various packages Malfoy bought for Harry -or Caine- earlier in the day. When they reached the intersection of the side alley and the main alley Sev and Malfoy exchanged a glance. The tall, dark eyed man knelt before Harry.

"Would you allow me to disguise your hair? It is not that we are frightened or ashamed of it, quite the contrary, we seek only to avoid anymore attention brought to it until we have a plan to handle such situations."

Harry peaked up at Malfoy who gave a small nod. Harry looked at Sev.

"Alright. You have my permission." He said, trying his best emulate the way both Malfoy and Sev spoke.

Sev gave him a small smile. "There we are. I shall remove as soon as it is safe to do so or you ask it of me. Agreed?"

"Yes S-sev."

Malfoy grinned at the both of them.

They lead him out into the alley, keeping him between the two of them. The crowed parted around the three of them as if Moses were parting the sea. The plethora of Adders winding around the blonde may have had something to do with it but Harry was under the impression the crowd would have parted for them either way. He could taste the power coming off of Sev and everyone seemed to know who Malfoy's father was.

Upon reaching a tall, marble building they began up the stairs. Malfoy helping him up the large steps. Harry was smaller than him and unused to a cloak. They made it to the top of the stairs. Malfoy and Sev greeted a small, odd looking man all in armor.

"Are you the guard?" Asked Harry, curiously.

The little man's eyes widened and Harry was sure he could see through whatever Sev had done to his hair. "Yes. I am the guard alloted to the wizarding entrance of this bank for the last one hundred and twenty years."

"You must very trustworthy then." Said Harry.

The goblin flashed it's teeth. "Quite."

Malfoy squeezed his hand. "I have to go now. It was nice to meet you." Harry gave a small waved and followed behind his friend into the building. A bank the guard had called it. He hadn't ever been inside of a bank before. They missing the calculating gleam in the guard's eye.

"This way." Malfoy led him confidently down a hall to the right,a way from the main hall with the tellers. Here another guard met them, this one in a suit and not armor Harry was disappointed to note. While Malfoy and Sev spoke to the man Harry glanced around the building, all the while keeping a tight hold on his friend's arm. The last thing he needed was to be separated in a place as large as this.

"Caine?"

Harry turned. "Yes friend?"

The blonde's cheeks flushed briefly. "My father is coming. To meet you. Both Sev and myself agree he'll know what to do about you-"

A rush of hair and there stepping out of a fireplace with flickering green flames came a man who must be the Lord. He had very long white-blonde hair, pale skin and fine clothes. His right hand resting on a cane with the head of a snake. Silver eyes glanced over the snakes still entwined about his son and then zeroed in on Harry who promptly hid behind Malfoy. He too, it seemed, could see through the illusion Sev created. The Lord gave a quick nod of his head to Sev. "Severus."

"Lucius" Sev returned.

"And what," the Lord drawled turning to examine Harry, "do we have here?" He knelt as Sev had done and reached out to touch him. A squirming in his shirt resulted in his snake companion sticking out his head and hissing at the man's approaching fingers. The Lord froze, lifting his hand up and holding his fingers apart to show he held no weapon and meant no harm. Sharp, clever eyes met his. Harry swallowed and hid his face in Malfoy's shoulder. Even with his snakes the Lord was terribly intimidating.

"It's alright Caine. Father isn't like those filthy muggles. He won't hurt you. I promise." Malfoy looked down at him in earnest. For the first time in his life Harry trusted someone else. Taking a breath he walked out from behind Malfoy and met the gaze of the Lord. Raising his chin as he'd seen Malfoy do he gave a nod.

"H-hello."

The Lord's eyes flickered down to the snake still peeking out of his shirt, then back up to Harry, flickering to his hair only once. "Hello to you as well. Caine was it?"

Harry nodded hesitantly.

Malfoy beamed at his father. "He save my life not an hour ago." He declared. "Caine told his snakes to attack this thief down in the side alleys and they did and he fell to the ground. Then when he stood and tried to attack one of the snakes Caine tackled him to the ground. His others snakes surrounded me to keep me safe. You should have seen it father! His eyes were glowing and he apparated in front of the man and then..." Malfoy hushed his voice, "The man turned to ash."

The Lord's brow rose. He looked to Sev who only nodded. Silver eyes turned to Harry once more. "Do you think you could speak to the little snake fellow hissing at me for me? I'd very much like to hear it as well."

Unsure, Harry stroked the snake at his neck reassuringly. _"I need you to stop hissing at him now. If he tried to hurt me you can do it again but for now I need this man to like me. If he doesn't he might try to take my friend away from me."_

 _"The little white one?"_ Asked the snake, tilting its head up.

 _"Yes."_ Harry confirmed.

The Lord sucked in a breath.

Harry's head snapped up. "Did I do something wrong?"

"What did you say to him?" The Lord questioned.

Harry debated what to say. He did not want the man to take his sons way from him but perhaps a show of force would do his cause some good. He could show the man he would protect his son and would do anything to stay with him. He could warn him what would happen if he tried to take him away. Various answers rolled in his head before he chose the one he thought suited his interests best.

"I told him I need you to like me so he must stop hissing at you for now," he said quietly. "I also told him if you decided you didn't like me and tried to take M-Draco away from me he could bite you." He realized as he said it that he meant it. He would kill this man if he tried to keep them apart.

To his surprise the Lord wasn't displeased. In fact his silver eyes glittered. A quick glance to Sev and the answering look of approval there told Harry he had chosen his answer correctly. "I think, Caine, that I shall permit you to be friends with my son as long as you like."

Malfoy beamed.

"Now father something simply must be done about these horrid muggles he's living with or I shall get sick from worry when he's gone from my sight." The younger blonde said, smoothing down Harry's -Caine's- cloak as he did so as if he spoke about the weather.

His father's eyes narrowed. "What muggles?"

* * *

 **PseudonymousEntity**

 **2015**

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 **NOTES:** There ya go lads. [and ladies]

 _To the reviewer who asked, the thief is NOT an OC. Any guesses who it was?_

 _Thank you all for reading and reviewing. I appreciate the support of my readers so much._

 _-Pseu_


	5. Caine

**PSEU~PSEU~PSEU~PSEU~PSEU~PSEU~PSEU~PSEU~PSEU~PSEU~PSEU~PSEU~PSEU~PSEU~PSEU**

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 **~*S*O*M*E*T*H*I*N*G*~*W*I*C*K*E*D*~**

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 _"I think Hell is something you carry around with you, not somewhere you go."_

 _-Neil Gaiman_

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 **Summary:** Petunia abandons a young Harry in London with a flimsy promise to return after his hair turns an unnatural shade of red associated with the devil. Frightened and alone little Harry stumbles upon the entrance to Diagon Alley and is found by a boy with silver eyes. How much could Draco's influence at such a young age possibly change the story? Misunderstandings, possessiveness and magic ensue.

 **Characters:** Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy, Severus Snape, Lucius Malfoy (others come later on)

 **Warnings:** Superstitions, Curses, Lies, Manipulations, Possessiveness, Dark Arts, Mythology

 **AN:** I present the next installment of Something Wicked.

 **ANx2:** Thoughts, Questions, Theories, Guesses, Comments and limericks always welcomed.

 **Ever Yours, Pseu**

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 _"Lightly smile like you're keeping a secret, now tell lies because you've sworn to keep it_

 _Got a secret can you keep it, swear this one you'll save_

 _Better lock it in your pocket, taking this one to the grave - and I'll show you that I know you won't tell what I've said_

 _Because two can keep a secret if one of them is dead."_

 _-The Pierces_

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Muggles was the magic word.

They sat in a small conference room within the goblin run bank. Large and rectangular with bare stone walls and two tables on either end of the room it was a place of focus. No distractions. No paintings or murals or weapons they swore were only for decoration. This was not a place for intimidation techniques. This was a place of discussion. _What was the problem and what will you give us to do something about it?_ That was the only question that mattered. The goblins themselves were about Harry's size, some a little bigger and some a little smaller. They had pale narrow eyes, sharp smiles and fingers which ended with claws. Over all of this they wore nice suits and expensive pocket watches. Honestly Harry didn't think they needed the 'decorative' weaponry he'd seen on the walls in other areas of the bank. If you paid attention all you'd need was one good look at the goblins themselves. They were dangerous. They got things done.

And if the price was right they would be dangerous and get things done _for_ you rather than _against_ you.

There was some excitement in the beginning when a goblin approached Harry and tried to touch him. In the end he was only trying to shake his hand but Harry;s magic had reacted on instinct. There was a goblin ice sculpture in the middle of the room no one talked about. It wasn't Harry's fault. You shouldn't touch people without permission. he didn't like people touching him anyway. Except for Malfoy, but he was _his_ and that was different.

His snakes approved of the place. The majority still entwined about Malfoy's waist, taking Harry's order to keep him safe seriously. They'd sent two or three out to look about the room. Even the goblins were wary of them. Harry felt surges of smugness whenever he noticed this. It was good he thought for others to acknowledge it when you were dangerous. Of course it was usually everyone else who was dangerous. Not Harry. That was before he let his magic loose. Now that he couldn't put it back it coated his very skin and flared out now and then according to his mood. He was lucky that his power was so cold instead of hot. His companions forgave a bit of frost easily. He did not think they would be so forgiving of scorch marks and burns.

Two goblins stood in the far corner. Another stood near the pureblood Lord. The Lord's sharp eyes were expressive in his disdain for muggles and his disgust that such (Malfoy put his hands over Harry's ears so he wasn't sure what The Lord called the muggles) were somehow able to gain custody of a magical child. One as special as 'Caine' no less. Harry knew for a fact he spent last night sleeping in the cupboard under the stairs and was a freak not special. Harry wasn't about to correct anyone of the assumption. They could believe him special all they liked, it seemed to be working to his benefit. And if it meant he got to remain with Malfoy then Harry didn't much care what they thought.

Speaking of Malfoy, the younger blonde seemed more than pleased at the chaos he'd caused. Content to stand behind Harry and run his fingers through his red hair. Harry liked it but also felt like a pet. Nearby stood Sev. The man had not left Harry's side, his black eyes periodically giving him contemplative looks. Each one made Harry's heart thump hard against his chest. What if this man figured out he wasn't special? What if they sent him back?

He tugged and twisted at the cloak he still wore. He could not hide behind Malfoy right now. Malfoy told him he had to let everyone get a good look at him and be a bit melancholy while he was at it.

 _"Everyone feels for hurt children, especially if they're powerful and orphaned."_

That didn't stop the taller boy from staying close to Harry, playing with his hair or fixing his clothes. Sometimes he moved forward just a bit and squeezed Harry, letting him know he was there with him. That he was not alone. Harry's magic adored the attention, rumbling in pleasure, skittering around the other boys. Malfoy's cheeks were rosy from the chill but he never once complained. Perhaps he understood it? Perhaps he knew it was affectionate and didn't mind it? His magic flared out for a moment in response to the possessive feeling that swam over him. _His_ friend was a very good one.

"Caine?"

Harry looked up to lock eyes with Malfoy's silver ones. They were wide and shining, the cheeks below flushed pink from Harry's magic. "The goblins would like to speak with you. Alone. They want to see if they figure out which bloodline you come from so we can try to find you some magical relatives to stay with. Is that alright with you? If it's not I'll tell them so." Said Malfoy. He smoothed out Harry's cloak as he said this, straightening it and removing invisible bits of dust. Harry wondered if it was a nervous habit. Or maybe...a possessive one? He barely kept his magic from flaring out at the thought.

"No that's fine. I'll see them." If he at least met with them alone than maybe he could talk to them? Reason with them? Surely they wouldn't send him back to the muggle if he told them, and possibly exaggerated, how he was treated. He just didn't want anyone talking to them. Whenever anyone came to talk to his aunt and uncle they always left believing them. Harry didn't want that to happen. No he wouldn't let it happen. If it did he wouldn't see Malfoy again. That was unacceptable. Malfoy was his friend. He wouldn't be parted from him. He didn't care if he had to ice over the room to get that point across or immobilize them all with his snakes' venom. He was staying with Malfoy. Plain and simple.

Harry sat at a small table to the side of the room with three goblins in front of him. Just behind him both Malfoy and Sev stood, outside the privacy ward. The goblins assured him they couldn't hear anything they said until it was taken down. First they asked for his full name, if he knew it, his age and date of birth. They asked for the names of his relatives and the names of his parents. They weren't happy when he told them he'd never known his parents names or even what they looked like. They were less happy when he said he wasn't sure when is birthday was as it wasn't ever celebrated. Or mentioned. Apparently they knew who he was right away. They took a sample of his magic to run against a set in a family vault. It was to confirm his connection the bloodline or so he was told.

This was how Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived was introduced to the wizarding world and how he learned of his parent's death. Of his fame. Not how many would imagine it. Not how certain figures would have had it happen. In another life in another world it went differently. But this is how it went in this world and this weren't destined to go as anyone planned. In return Harry told them everything. He told them about the cupboard under the stairs. He told them about Harry hunting and the weird things that happened around him. How his hair grew back after his aunt cut it all off. The way it turned red. Harry demonstrated his ability to talk to snakes and to control them and he made the room grow cold with his magic. He explained what happened with the thief in the alley and how he believed he'd stolen the man's life or maybe his soul.

The smallest of the three goblins looked up from the papers in front of him. They'd been staring at them in horror for several minutes and it was beginning to freak Harry out. They all studied Harry for a moment. "We have a problem."

Harry's eyes narrowed. "Sir?"

"People will notice if Harry Potter goes missing. Maybe not now, but they will. The question is what you want us to do about it?" He rearranged the papers in front of him. "I can not move without your permission. I want you to know that we can help you, if you ask us."

"Sir?" Harry repeated. "I don't understand."

The goblins exchanged glances. "You don't want anyone to know that you are Harry Potter, this is correct?"

"Yes sir." Said Harry. "I'd like to stay Caine if I can. I don't want to be Harry. I don't want to go back." Harry pulled on the cloak Malfoy bought for him. He didn't want to give this up. No one like Harry but a lot of people liked Caine. Malfoy stuck up for Caine. Bought Caine things. Let Caine hide behind him was he was nervous and didn't call him a Freak when he spoke to snakes. Malfoy was worried for Caine when he fought with the thief in the alley. Caine was staying with Malfoy. "If it's up to me I'd like to be Caine."

"That's a very big lie." Warned the smallest goblin. His voice was as soft as a goblin's voice could get. He appeared sympathetic. "There will be consequences." He hated the way they looked at him then. harry understood consequences. He knew things didn't always turn out how you'd like. In fact nothing ever had. Not for him. Not until now. Not until he mat Malfoy. Harry knew from his relatives that if you wanted something you had sometimes you had to be willing to get your hands dirty. To bend and break some rules. You did what you had to do. Harry understood that. He lived in a cupboard under the stairs because he'd be thrown out into the street if he complained. He did his chores because he wouldn't eat if he didn't. Doing things you didn't want to do, doing things that were hard. Harry understood. Now though. Now it was time for him to do the hard things in-exchange for the things he wanted. Not stale bread. Not a cupboard. He wanted Malfoy. He wanted to keep his friend and his new things and the respect and awe in Sev's eyes. _He wanted_ it.

"I don't care." Said Harry, hardening in a soft place inside himself. He _wanted_ to stay with Malfoy. He _wanted_ to be his friend. He _wanted_ to be with people who didn't care how odd he was or that he was magical. He wanted to stay. Harry clenched his hands into fists. From his shirt his snake stuck its head, turning to look up at him. Harry stared down at it.

 _"Do you want me to bite them?"_ It asked.

He patted its head. _"Not yet. If they don't give me what I want then..."_ He trailed off. An idea forming. Thoughts emerging. Harry thought of what he'd done to the man in the alley and he relaxed. He did not know much about the wizarding world but he knew enough about life that the one in the room with the ability to suck out your soul was the one who got his way. A small smile curled along Harry's face. _He sucked out somebody's soul_. He had power over snakes. He'd like to see someone try to take him away. If they wouldn't help him he'd make them. His magic purred at the thought, flaring up.

The temperature in the room lowered, frost crawling along the table where he sat, on the buttons of the goblins suits and down their claws. Conversation paused. The other inhabitants of the room turned to look at the boy with the unnatural red hair, sat before three goblins. His face calm, serene even. His eyes though, those emeralds were as hard as the stones they resembled. The snakes focused on their master, interested in this turn of events. The three wanders slithered toward the table. In the silences their scales on the stones was loud. Unnerving. Soft chimes of metal against the rock. They twirled their small blue bodies about the legs of the table, poking their heads over the top. The swaying, unblinking heads staring down the goblins sitting there.

Harry noticed none of this. Mentally hugging his magic for supporting him as no one else ever had he looked up. The goblins met his eyes head on, their own glittering. "I very much look forward," Said one of them, "To seeing what becomes of you Mister Potter."

"I don't want to be Harry Potter." Said Harry, shoving his magic into the words.

The goblins grinned. "Well then mister Potter, we'll have to create you won't we?"

July 1989 Caine Potter was created. Younger brother to the more famous Harry Potter. Hidden away by his family out of fear for disgrace. Light aligned families did not have children with Hellfire hair. A birth certificate lay before him on the table looking as if it'd been around for year rather than just created. There was a family tree with his name. He was included in a family will, given godparents and received his own vault in the bank. There it lay before him, his new existence. It was unnerving how easily the goblins 'created' him.

He was officially somebody else.

"What will we do about Harry?" He asked. It felt odd to talk about himself in the third person.

The goblins grinned. "When the time is right we'll come to you. Until then, enjoy your new life. Caine." They stacked the papers and set them aside, handing him a small folder. "Give these to Severus Snape. We imagine he will take care of it just fine from here."

Harry took a deep breath. This was it. Let there be consequences. He didn't care anymore. Harry walked to Sev. Slowly. Giving any remaining heavily light aligned morals to make themselves known and talk himself out of it. None of them showed themselves. So this was it. He was really doing this. He'd heard of living a lie but this was something else. He could do it though. If something was his he was keeping it. If he didn't want to do something he wouldn't do it. His magic curled around him, whispering into his ear. Its icy fingers running along his arms and his face and his throat, soothing him. Reassuring him that it would take of everything. All he had to do was say the word.

He was powerful. He could do whatever he wanted.

"Sev?"

The tall, dark haired man turned to him. "Yes Caine? Is everything alright? You were over there for quite some time." His dark eyes flickered to the goblins talking excitedly at the table where Harry left them. A fourth ran between them and the two speaking with Lord Malfoy. Their grins were especially unpleasant. Who knew Goblins liked deception so much?

"Have they found your family?"

Blonde hair momentarily clouded Harry's vision. Malfoy squeezed him tight, step back and started playing with his hair without a word. Harry was surprised how quickly he was getting used to that. Sev was still looking at him, waiting. Harry swallowed. He could do this. They already liked him. All he had to do was commit to this role, get them to like him even more and they'd never question anything he did. That's how it worked. Uncle Vernon did all sorts of things his aunt disapproved of. When it was the neighbors doing it. But because it was her husband, someone she loved doing these things and these things benefited her...it was as if she never even noticed. Harry could do this. He would take everything he had learned in life thus far and he would use it.

No one would ever push him around or take his things again. No one.

"About that sir." He held out the folder. "There is something I think you need to see."

Harry tilts his head, letting his red curls tumble over one another, drawing the man's eyes to them. Harry gave him a nervous, pretty smile. A hopeful smile. "Read it okay? And it's okay if it's not something you;re interested in but..." He rambled, hanging the sentence empty at the end. He even bit his lip and looked down to the ground. The folder left his hands. Harry dropped them to his side then he curled them around his waist. He made himself seem even smaller. He felt Malfoy wrap an arm around him, one of his hands playing with his hair.

A soft burst of breath left Sev.

"Do you know what this paper says?" His low, rolling voice questioned.

Caine looked up.

"Yes sir. It says you're my godfather."

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 **PseudonymousEntity**

 **2016**

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 **Notes:**

Thoughts? Questions? Theories? Guesses? Comments? Limericks?

AN: I worked on this instead of getting ready to go and now I have to run to the laundry room, get my clothes, get changed, brush my hair (or just stick some water in it and let it be messy on purpose) and run out the door. Go me! Totally not edited so I am sorry for mistakes there is sure to be. I'll be on later and I'll be responding to PMs about then so if you've been waiting for a response I'm gonna get to you soon I swear. Until then, cross your fingers I look healthy when my mum comes by.

-pseu


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